Spinal Fellowship

Job overview

The Centre for Spinal Studies and Surgery (CSSS) at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is pleased to advertise for new fellowship opportunities in spinal surgery with posts commencing in August 2026 and February 2027. The CSSS runs a two year fellowship programme best suited for orthopaedic or neurosurgical specialists who have recently completed their basic specialist training and are keen to advance their subspecialist knowledge and surgical skill in spinal surgery.

The fellowship structure is divided into two tiers, A and B fellowship. The B fellowship is an entry level, one year spinal fellowship with focus on research, emergency case management, complex clinics and assisting in complex spinal procedures. The A Fellowship is a one year, advanced surgical fellowship with significant focus on complex clinics and surgical exposure. The A fellowship has additional approval from the RCS of England and fellows who successfully complete it will get certificates from both the CSSS and the Royal College of Surgeons. Entry to the A fellowship from the B fellowship is based on satisfactory appraisal (6 monthly) and academic achievement.

Please indicate in your application if you are interested in an August 2026 or February 2027 start

Main duties of the job

CLINICAL DUTIES

Regular clinical duties include early ward round, daily board round and daily MDT where all acute admissions and operations over the preceding 24 hours are presented and discussed. After full training both Fellow As and Bs are expected to perform independent spinal injection lists. You will be attending and managing spinal patients in the spinal outpatient clinics under the supervision of the consultant. Both Fellow As and Bs will be expected to attend two whole day elective operating lists a week. In addition they are also expected to help the associate consultants in the emergency spinal theatres and clinics. The post holders will also be expected to help out with ward duties. These duties involve the reception, assessment and treatment of acute admissions under the direction of the consultants as required. The successful candidate will be expected to take part in an on-call rota.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This role additionally provides:

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

The research sessions will be supervised by the individual consultants in accordance with their areas of interest. Most research is clinically focused; however there is considerable scope for the development of basic science research and cooperation with biomechanical institutions. Every encouragement will be given to submit for a higher degree. The post-holder is expected to present work at national and international meetings and to have at least one paper accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal at the completion of each year. They are also expected to actively participate in the mandatory and service evaluation and improvement audits.

TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES

Fellows are expected to participate regularly in teaching the CT1 and FY2s on the ward, as well as medical students. They are expected to actively participate in journal clubs and present topics in the department’s academic meeting.